This easy apple crisp is made the old fashioned way like Grandma used to make, and is perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce!
A true classic Fall dessert, this easy apple crisp recipe is reminiscent of generations past. Pop this apple crisp in the oven and wait for the delicious smell to waft through your house!
Do you have a classic Fall dessert that you just LOVE? I have several, but one of them is definitely this apple crisp recipe! Growing up, my Mom had two classic desserts that she made… one was her famous Carrot Cake, and the other was a mouthwatering apple crisp.
This isn’t her exact recipe, but it’s one that I’ve tweaked and been working on for a while, and I’ve finally gotten it just right! While I do love pumpkin, apple is actually my favorite Fall flavor. Mostly because of this crisp lol.
Some apple crisp recipes don’t use oats, which is totally fine if that’s your thing, but I LOVE the crispy oat topping, so I made sure to add a good amount of it.
What apples do I use for this easy apple crisp
Simply put, you can use any apples that you like! My personal favorite for this recipe is the golden delicious variety, but Granny Smith or Fuji are some other great varieties.
To peel, or not to peel
It’s 100% up to you! I’ve made this recipe both ways, and I like them both equally. Generally, when I make this easy apple crisp, I’m making it for my family, and my kids wouldn’t eat it with the skins on, so I peel them more often than not. I’m sure this goes without saying, but if you choose to leave the skins on, be sure to wash the apples thoroughly 🙂
That right there is my FAVORITE way to enjoy hot apple crisp… with a cold scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, and drizzled with my luscious browned butter salted caramel sauce! If you’ve never tried it that way… you totally need to!
Looking for other recipes that use that caramel sauce?
- Caramel Apple Pie Bars
- Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream
- Vanilla Chai Cheesecake Bars
- Butterfinger Toffee Cookies
I invite you all to join me in making my favorite Fall dessert… this easy apple crisp. Once you have it in the oven, you’ll LOVE the smell that fills your house!
Shop the recipe
- 8″ baking dish – I love the clean white look, plus it bakes beautifully!
- Vegetable peeler – You probably already have one, but in case you don’t, this one is my personal favorite!
- Pastry Cutter – I love that this is sturdy and the blades don’t bend nearly as easily as some other brands!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
Spiced apples
- 6 golden delicious apples peeled and chopped (other varieties can be used, can also be sliced)
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Crisp topping
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup old fashioned oats quick oats can be used, but it may have a slightly different texture
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch of kosher salt
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter diced into small cubes
Instructions
Prepare
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Butter an 8×8 baking dish, or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Make spiced apples
- In a mixing bowl, add chopped apples, granulated sugar, 3/4 tsp of the cinnamon and lemon juice. Stir to combine, then transfer to prepared baking dish.
Make topping
- In a separate mixing bowl, add topping ingredients (brown sugar, oats, flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, salt, and diced cold butter).
- Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the oat mixture, using a slight downward twisting motion, until mixture resembled pea-sized crumbs. Alternatively, you can use two forks or even your hands to cut butter into the mixture.
Bake
- Spread topping over apples in baking dish, and gently pat to even it out. Bake 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.
Serve
- Serve warm and enjoy! We love to top ours with some vanilla bean ice cream, or whipped cream.
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Chef Tips
- The amount of chopped apples would be about 6-7 cups.
- Note that all ovens bake differently, so yours may take a little less or a little more time to bake.
- I don’t have an issue with my crisp being watery (due to the water content in the apples), but if a little juice at the bottom is something you want to avoid, you can try adding a little all purpose flour to the apple mixture.
Make-Ahead Directions:
- Bake as directed. After the crisp cools, cover and refrigerate until the next day. When you’re ready to reheat, set it out at room temp for 20 minutes or so, then bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, or until hot throughout.
- I haven’t tested assembling this ahead of time (although I’m pretty sure other readers have done this successfully – you’d have to check the other comments).
- I haven’t tested freezing this recipe, although many other readers have frozen it successfully.
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
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Nysha says
Yummy. Like I remember mom made.
Brian Kiontke says
Can I melt the butter instead of cold?
The Chunky Chef says
Without testing it myself, I can’t guarantee the results if you deviate from the written recipe… but I *think* it would work. Probably give it a harder crust-like topping.
Becca says
We made this and it came out so delicious. May have over packed the cup of brown sugar but it still tasted amazing! Thank you!
Kelly says
The entire family said it was the best dessert they have had in awhile. I only had McIntosh apples and they break down a little faster so next time I will try golden delicious but it was still tasty.
Rebecca says
I just made these and WOW. I halved the recipe and used a 5x9inch pan, and used dark brown sugar and quick oats instead since that was all I had on hand. They turned out so amazing, with the perfect ratio of apple to crumble, and it tasted phenomenal with some vanilla ice cream on top. Very easy recipe that was quite foolproof (I’m not too great at baking). Will definitely make again!
Faith says
I loved this apple crisp!! It’s the best and easiest I found yet! My family loves it and it’s quick and easy. Thank you for sharing! I didn’t even have to use lemon juice and it still came out great!
Gretchen Demarah says
I made this and used Truvia Brown Sugar,and used Earth Balance with 2T of butter.Healthier and tasted great!
Krisstine says
My 4 grown children love this. All 5 Grandchildren love it too. Haven’t met anyone (yet) who turns down a piece of this delicious dish. It’s a great make ahead recipe too Love, Love, Love this 😋
Kim says
I made this yesterday. It was delicious and all gone within and hour! Will definitely make again.
Sonja says
This was fantastic! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I used oat flour (by grinding up one cup of oats) and made a few minor substitutions because of what I had in my pantry – dark brown sugar and apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice. I also used a tsp of vanilla in the crumble and only five apples with the peel on. It was so delicious and crunchy on top while gooey in the middle. I look forward to making it again! It made enough for two large servings for two people for two days haha so four large (and I mean large) servings. Very rich and satisfying!
Megan Rizzo says
I’m in the process of making it now. I used one package of nature valley oats and honey granola bar (only what I had on hand) and did everything else. Well when I was using the fork to fold in cold cubed butter it ended up being more of a paste rather than crumble. It’s in the oven now and smells good but do you no why it would turn out like that (I pushed the butter down with fork into batter)
Dolores Bullock says
Megan, you probably just needed to “work” the butter into the topping more. I usually do it with my hands, rather than a fork or pastry cutter. It takes a little while to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients. How did it turn out with the granola bars??
Debbie says
My family loved this!! They are so sick of eating at home, so the fact that it is almost gone, less than an hour after I pulled it from the oven, speaks volumes! Will definitely make again! Thank you!
P.S. We were even out of ice cream—and they still loved it!
Delly Mellor says
I was skeptical but this recipe is incredible! Perfect amount of topping and incredible flavor. Apples came out soft and flavorful. Make it with my kids to use up apples and they devoured it. We didn’t have a pastry cutter so I just mashed the butter chunks and spread them out the best I could. It was bubbly and delicious. I considered melting the butter and pouring it over the topping next time before cooking. Not sure if that would work.
Robyn says
Wow superb recipe!!!
Will make again
Jaanu Chandigarh says
Thank you!!!
YASHICA DUDLEY says
I have some oats and honey Nature Valley granola bars. Can I crush those up to put on the top? Think that will come out right?
The Chunky Chef says
You mean instead of using all oats? Yes that should work, but you’ll still need the brown sugar, flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, salt, and diced cold butter if you want a topping that looks similar to this 🙂
Rebecca Morgan says
I made this for my family and it has become our absolute favorite!! We love this recipe!! It is easy and tasty!!
Shelli Smee says
Love this recipe. I have made it 3 times. The first time was by the recipe, I played with a little the second time but decided it didn’t need improvement and so this time I went back to the original.
Jamie says
Absolutely delicious! Perfect recipe, just the way it is!
Alexis R. says
This was just what I needed for my apple crisp hankering! However, the apples were still a little hard and the top wasn’t bubbling at 50 minutes. Not sure if I need to cook a little longer?? This was amazing!
Andrea Smith says
I have nothing, but wonderful things to say about this recipe!! I had so many apples and looked up what I could make with them and came across this recipe. It is simple, perfect, and delicious! My boyfriend loves it and comes out of the office saying it smells better than any candle we’ve ever had haha. During the quarantine, I’ve been making this for others to bring some sweetness into their lives! They’ve all enjoyed. Thank you for this wonderful recipe! This ones staying in the books for a long long time.
Caryl says
Delicious recipe. Made it a few weeks ago and am back to make it again. I use honeycrisp since they’re the family favorites.